As an opening challenge---go to your favorite concordance, or look at BibleGateway.com, BlueLetterBible, or whatever online Bible search engine you like. Search for Know God. Pretty overwhelming examples of God knowing us, and what knowing God does for us!
"...the Hebrew word for redemption, geulah, is constituted of the very same letters for the word for exile, golah, with only the added letter aleph (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is silent) transforming the word from "exile" to "redemption".
Galut is a time when G-d's presence is concealed, when nearly all perceptible traces of the relationship we share with Him have vanished. We don't feel or see G-d's love for us, and we don't really feel like His children." The Basics---Why Exile? from Chabad.org
As I continue my research into Judiasm---for background, cultural knowledge to deepen my understanding of the Word---I find interesting gems like this.
That the word for exile, or not knowing God, is so close to redemption, or knowing God, is a resounding gong in my mind.
Exile, according to dictionary.com, is "a person banished from his or her native land". Normally, exile is done because of political reasons--the law required by the country in question is not followed.(Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the more famous exiles). And what exile is the greatest but that which keeps us from being in the presence of God?
The missing part of faith and acceptance of God means that we are in exile; a permanent, terrible exile.
Redemption, by dictionary.com, has one definition of "paying off, as of a mortgage, bond, or note". In other words, and in a slightly different manner than the typical covering of our sins, which indeed happens, our crime against the law is paid for, we are allowed back into the country of our homeland. And, better yet, the history of our crimes are filed away, never to be seen again.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7NIV
Many fear this passage, for we ask ourselves if we are of those who are not part of the redeemed exiles. As many others have said, look for examples of fruits of the Spirit. How do others react around you---one, do you get compliments of the fruits, and two, is your heart really in tune with God? A great response to this which someone told me was that if this verse worried you, you were concerned enough to WANT to be with God---and that is a key part of knowing God, and having His redemption from the unbelieving exile we all once had.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Jn 14NIV
True redemption comes through our salvation with Christ--and that comes, of course, from our accepting that He is the Messiah, that He is God, and that we are willing to admit that we are NOT able to exist in life, save ourselves or make even one hair grow or not.
34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Dt 4 NIV
Another sign of our redemption from exile is the Spirit within us---the ability to learn what God has to show us in His Word. He sent the Holy Spirit to point out, as a tutor might, things in the Word that we need to know right then, or that we will need to know. The Spirit interprets the Word for us, giving us proof of His existence and of our redemption.
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’[a]
though hearing, they may not understand.’[a]
69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Jn 6 NIV
Knowing that He is the Holy One of God, that He has brought us from exile, is an incredible thing. A mind boggling, speechless thing. One point I'd like to make, yet again, is that God never leaves us or forsakes us. We may feel that way---and in my experience it is usually linked with pride. We may be prideful that we are managing life (even while reading the Word x amount of hours a day!), we may be prideful about how much we volunteer. When God feels far away it is usually because we start running in the wrong direction. We think we can still manage it, pray even harder, etc...but what we have to do is realize we cannot do anything without God. We have to completely rely on His power and strength. Then we find that He was right there all the time. We just kept running the wrong direction.
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